First Meetings
by Caz Malfoy
Summary: Crossover with Miami. The last thing Danny expected was to meet a Jaguar. SLASH.


_Disclaimer: _I don't own CSI:Miami or NY.

Author's note: This is the prequel to Tigers and Jaguars and the first is a series of stories.

First Meetings

The last thing fifteen year old Danny Messer wanted was to sit inside on a sunny day and listen to his father lecture him on the history of the Tiger species. The only consolation was that after an hour and half he was free to do whatever he wanted. This would normally mean grabbing his baseball bat and ball and heading down to the local ballpark.

But today Danny felt an urge to leave the city for a little white. He begged his mom relentlessly to borrow her car. Eventually she agreed and handed him the keys.

Danny stuck a recorded tape in the cassette player and rolled the windows down as he drove, allowing the breeze to lap across his cheeks refreshingly.

Once he was free of the city he pulled the car up alongside a field. The wheat grew higher on this side of the road and provided him enough cover to transform and not be spotted by anyone that might pass by.

Changing into his true Tiger form had been a challenge for Danny for a long time. So long, that his parents had been worried that their youngest son might never be able to reveal the Tiger in him.

Then one day, on the way home from baseball practice Danny had been sitting in the back of his mom's car when sneezed. The next thing Carla knew there was a ten-year-old Tiger sitting in her son's place.

Changing form was easier for Danny now and after five years it didn't hurt anymore. For the first two and a half years transforming had caused agonizing pain on the inside of Danny as his organs shifted from those of a human to those of a Tiger.

He grinned to himself as he ran through the wheat, it's stems rubbing against his fur. He loved being able to get away from the city and enjoy the fresh air that the country provided.

Before Danny knew what was happening something attacked him from behind, pushing him to the ground.

Danny growled and rolled over, getting back onto his feet so he could face his attacker who turned out to be a Jaguar.

Danny growled against and swiped a paw at the newcomer, who retaliated in kind.

Both animals paused as they looked into each other's eyes. Danny didn't know what the Jaguar was seeing but to Danny there seemed to be something almost humanlike in the other's yellow eyes.

Danny didn't know how, or if it was even possible, but he thought that maybe the other cat was like Danny; someone whose genetics were so mixed up that they allowed him to transform into a potentially dangerous predator at will.

Hoping that he wasn't about to be proven wrong, Danny cautiously changed back into his human form, stepping back a little to give himself chance to change back in case he was incorrect.

The Jaguar looked at Danny, it's head cocked to one side. Seemingly weighing it's options, before it transformed right in front of Danny's eyes. Instead of the feline there now stood a young man, about Danny's age, in its place.

"Bloody hell!" Danny found himself saying as the Jaguar-turned-human righted itself. "You really are human as well!"

"Right back at ya," the other boy countered, dusting his jeans off.

"What are you?" Danny asked without thinking.

The other boy rolled his eyes. "I thought that would have been obvious. I'm a Jaguar," he pointed out. "Just like you're a Tiger. A genetic mistake. A fuck-up. Whatever," he shrugged.

"We're not mistakes," Danny argued.

"What would you call it then?" the other countered.

Danny shrugged his shoulders, unable to think of something to say. Silence fell upon them until Danny asked the other's name.

"Tim Speedle," the Jaguar replied. Danny introduced himself. "You from Staten Island."

It was more of a statement than a question but Danny still felt like he had to confirm. "How did you know?" he asked.

Tim shrugged. "Your accent."

"What 'bout you?" Danny asked.

"Originally? Syracuse."

"And now?" Danny pushed.

"Wherever I feel like it," Tim replied. "I ran away from home three years ago," he answered Danny's unasked question with the air of someone commenting on the weather.

"Where do you live?" Danny asked in amazement.

"In a cave back there," Tim cocked his head behind him.

"There are no caves there," Danny argued.

"Have you ever been?" Tim raised an eyebrow.

"Well, no, but-,"

"How do you know if you've never been?" he smirked and Danny's mouth snapped closed. "Trust me. They're there. I sleep there and go into the city when I want. I suppose I'm what you call feral."

Danny must have looked surprised at Tim's choice of words because the brown eyed teenager chuckled. "What? You thought that 'cause my parents don't care about me and that I ran away, I'm uneducated?" Danny felt a blush rise in his cheeks. "When I got into the city I spend most, if not all, of my time in the library reading."

"I'm sorry," Danny mumbled to the ground.

"Don't be," Tim dismissed his apology with a wave of his hand. "Everyone thinks that all runaways are miscreants and drug addicts. Not your fault," he repeated.

x

It was only when the sun started to set that Danny thought about heading back to the car. He didn't have long to get home and he had to be in before his curfew.

All the way back to the city Tim stayed on his mind. Danny had never met anyone – other than family – with the same abilities he had and Tim intrigued him. His laid back approach. His who-cares attitude to life. Taking whatever happened in his stride. Even the appearance of a Tiger seemed to not faze him in the slightest.

Danny knew then that he wouldn't be able to stay away from the Jaguar.

TBC


End file.
